Important Early Rockets and Missiles

Early Prototypes

Goddard's prototype rocket was pulled rather than
pushed. Pressure from the oxygen tank was used to push
fuel to the combustion chamber. A small alcohol heater
was used to speed up vaporization of the oxygen, and an
umbilical oxygen line was used to begin the combustion
process.

The rocket was first flown on March 16, 1926
at Auburn, Massachusetts.

Rockets and Missiles of World War II

The German Missile Program

The V-1 was 8 meters long with a range of 240 km. It
was powered by a pulse-jet engine, the source of its
distinctive buzzing sound, hence the nickname "buzz
bomb". It flew at an altitude of about 900 meters
and the first of over 8500 was launched against England
on June 13, 1944, a week after D-Day.

An American copy
of the V-1, called the JB-2 or Loon, actually went into
production during World War II, intended for use against
Japan. About 300 were built. The principal effect was to
give American manufacturers their first experience in
missile production.

The V-2 was about 15 meters long. Between September 6, 1944
and March 27, 1945, over 4000 were launched. It had a range of
300 kilometers, reached an altitude of 100 kilometers and a speed
of over 5000 km per hour. From launch to impact was about five
minutes.

Missiles of Other World War II Powers

Many varieties of small artillery rocket were used by all
powers. The emphasis here is on missiles that foreshadowed modern
ballistic missiles and spacecraft. One small rocket is of
interest because it was the first practical retrorocket. It was
used to slow down anti-submarine bombs dropped from aircraft and
was credited with numerous submarine kills, including the last
German submarine sunk in the war just a week before Germany
surrendered.

Japan had by far the least sophisticated rocket
program of any major power in World War II. The Okha
manned rocket plane was a kamikaze aircraft, built for a
one-way trip. Its intended American recipients called it
the "Baka", the Japanese word for "fool."
It was dropped from a bomber, glided most of the way to
its target, then ignited its rocket engines to accelerate
to about 600 miles per hour for the final attack.

The U.S. Navy designed the Lark to intercept kamikaze
attackers, but it was not fully operational by the end of
the war.

The British response to the kamikaze threat was the
Stooge, which was not operational when the war ended.

The 4-meter long Bat was launched from a bomber. It
had a range of 30 km and sank a Japanese destroyer at
that range in April, 1945.

It seems clear that, had World War II lasted a few years
longer, it would have evolved into a very modern war indeed,
fought with jet aircraft, ballistic and cruise missiles, and
quite possibly many more nuclear weapons.

V-2 Spinoffs

Pioneering Cruise Missiles

To the casual observer, "cruise missile" carries
connotations of the Persian Gulf War. In fact, much of the early
U.S. effort on military missiles was directed toward cruise
missiles, some of which were as elegant in design as any winged
craft ever flown. If you think about it, the first cruise missile
was actually the German V-1.

Bomarc was a surface to air missile 14 meters long
with a range of up to 400 km. Its origins date to 1946.
It first flew in 1952 and became operational in 1957.

Hound Dog was an air to surface missile 12 meters
long with a range of 800 km. First launched in 1959, it
was designed to be launched from a B-52 and carry a
nuclear warhead.

Matador was a surface to surface missile 12 meters
long with a range of 1,000 km.

Mace was a surface to surface missile 14 meters long
with a range of 1,100 km. It was the successor to the
Matador.

Regulus was a naval ship to surface missile. Regulus
1 was 10 meters long with a range of 800 km. Regulus 2
was 17 meters long with a range of 1,900 km.

The Snark, 20 meters long, was envisioned as an
intercontinental nuclear cruise missile. It had a range
up to 10,000 kilometers and, being unmannned, cost only a
fifth as much as an equivalent manned bomber. It first
flew in 1951.

The Navaho was an odd-looking hybrid of a rocket
booster and a winged cruis missile.

Early U.S. Military Missiles

Nike Ajax (11 meters long) was the first American
air-defense missile, operational from 1953 to
1958.

Nike Cajun (8 meters long) used the Nike booster
but had a lighter second stage and was used for
research. It could reach altitudes of over 150 km.

Nike Hercules (12 meters long) had four boosters
and could carry a nuclear warhead. It was
conceived in 1953 and operational from the late
1950's until the mid-1970's.

Sputniks

The core of the Soviet space program was an early
ICBM, the SS-6 or Sapwood (left). It was modified by
removing the warhead and adding an upper oxygen tank (center).
Four more SS-6 engines were added around the base and
covered with an aerodynamic shielding. This design proved
so successful it remained the basic Soviet booster design
for two decades.

A note on names. To the former Soviet Union, even the
existence of certain weapons systems was often regarded as a
secret. When the Russian name of a system was known it was used (as
in Akula "shark" class submarines.) When, as was
usually the case, the Russian name was not known, NATO planners
assigned code names. Strategic missiles had code names beginning
with S, like Sapwood. Bombers began with B: Bear, Badger,
Backfire, etc.

Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, was
launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. It was
about 60 cm in diameter and weighed about 80 kg. It is
shown here against the former Soviet flag to dramatize
its psychological impact.

Sputnik 2 carried the first living creature into orbit, a
small female dog named Laika. There was no provision for recovery
and Laika died in space when her air ran out. In the figure,
Laika's capsule and spherical air tank are outlined in red.